I swallowed back the bile that rose in my throat. I called out to Kait and David in my mind. They didn’t answer at first. Come on, guys, I need a little back up!
There were muffled thumps and guests dropped to the ground around me. Alarr stepped toward me, his hand raised like he was going to slap me, when he suddenly dropped as well. I sunk to the ground, shaking. That was way too fucking close for me.
People started screaming, then fire spouted across the room. The underlings were attacking. I stood up, squared my shoulders, and waded into the fray.
Soldiers had rushed the room, and more were guarding the exits. The people in the middle of the room were either attacking or milling about in a panic. A man came at me with what looked like a table leg held above his head, screaming. I formed ice under his feet, and he slipped, falling face first into the ground. I winced when his head bounced off the granite tiles, but he didn’t move after, so I kept going.
A few more tried their luck on me, but I took care of them as quickly as the first. Most, I left laying on the tile, hogtied with ice. The soldiers could round them up. Most would be imprisoned and tried for treason. A few would probably be executed. My mind drifted to Stefa, but I firmly pushed that thought aside. I would deal with that later.
A man with a sword rushed me. I made myself an ice sword, making sure to put plenty of iron it in, so it would hold up to his real sword. He smirked as he attacked. Bastard probably thought the pretty girl in the dress couldn’t fight back. I countered his first attack, and surprise showed on his face as he staggered back. He set himself again, then feinted at me. I batted his sword away, then I attacked all out. About midway through the move, it occurred to me that I probably should have taken the shoes off, but it was too late for that. He went left when he should have gone right, and I ran him through. Now he really looked surprised and he gaped down at the sword disappearing into his chest. I stepped back to let him fall. Thank god he wasn’t a good swordsman, and for the lessons Kait had given me.
Arms wrapped around me from behind, and I threw and elbow back, catching my assailant in the solar plexus. A familiar wheeze made me turn around. David, with tears of pain in his eyes, was slowly dropping to his knees, trying desperately to catch his breath. I put my hand over my mouth to hide my smile.
“I’m sorry, Hon. I didn’t know it was you.” I couldn’t keep the laughter from my voice.
David forced a smile, “That was all my fault.” He forced himself to his feet, but he was still bent at the waist. I rubbed his back as I surveyed the room. The soldiers had the rest of the people still standing corralled into the middle of the room and were handcuffing them before leading them out. It appeared the fight was over. It almost seemed too easy.
My gaze darted around the room, looking for Travis and Kait. Travis was in the middle, talking with the soldiers, but I couldn’t find Kait. I was becoming more frantic. He wasn’t answering my mental call, and I didn’t see him.
“David, where’s Kait? I can’t find him anywhere.”
“Last I saw him, he was going to the kitchen.”
“He’s not answering me.” My voice was rising as panic flooded my mind.
“Sugar. Take a deep breath. I’m sure he’s just busy. Let’s go check on him.”
I nodded. “Before we go, let me do something.” I took off my shoes before tying my skirt up to the side. My leg was exposed all the way up to my hip, but I had more freedom of movement, and I didn’t have to ruin the dress to do it. David put a hand over his mouth, I was sure he was hiding his own smile.
“What?” I put my hands on my hips.
He cleared his throat as his gaze heated. “You look pretty badass, Sugar.”
I narrowed my eyes. I’m sure that’s not what he was originally thinking. Shrugging, I pushed past him. “Let’s go.”
We hurried to the kitchen. David must have called Travis, because when we reached the swinging doors that led to the kitchen, Travis was right behind us. I looked at David, then to Travis. “Full assault, or what? Low and slow, fast and hard? How we going to do this?”
“However you like it, Baby.” This from Travis, who was laughing. Why was he laughing at a time like… OH.
“Get your mind out of the gutter! Jeez! Do we kick in the door and rush it, or do we sneak in?”
“I say, we just walk in. Carefully, of course, but we don’t know that anything is actually wrong in here.”
True. Damn it. “Okay.” I put a hand on the door, and slowly pushed, tense and waiting for something to happen. Nothing did, so I stuck my hand through the opening. Again, nothing.
So, I walked in. There was no one in the kitchen. The place was completely deserted. Glancing at David, I said, “What the fuck? Where is everyone?” A metallic bang from the back of the room made us jump. I took the lead, cautiously making my way through the narrow aisles. At each gap in equipment, I paused to check the corners, but I never saw anyone. There was another bang, and this time, I heard a faint voice after it.
We followed the sound until we reached the
